Urban Trial Freestyle

Urban Trial Freestyle is obviously an attempt to put out a game similar to Trials HD. The game is a physics based endurance run that succeeds at what it intends to do, but fails to bring anything new to the genre but isn’t a bad attempt by any means. While it can be fun and quickly lead to frustration, Urban Trial Freestyle is a semi-successful attempt to capitalize on an already established idea. Now games like this have been around even longer than Trials HD but it seems pretty clear that Trials is the inspiration. Physics based games are all over the place and are a dime a dozen on the internet. Urban Trial Freestyle certainly feels like a rehash but still has qualities that set it apart from some other imitations out there.

The game has multiple level designs with different environmental templates dedicated to each one, such as a forest, industrial, or urban. The main goal is to ride your dirt bike across maps designed to throw your bike all over the place , requiring you to keep your balance and make it to the finish line. But there’s a catch. Each level has a different objective. Some levels only require you to make it to the end as quickly as possible, while others task you with performing certain stunts like flips, make the longest jump or get the fastest top speed. Each world’s levels are designed around one of these aspects and thus it creates a little bit of variety in gameplay, even if that variety is pretty limited. When you play each level there is also money to collect that is hidden or scattered around the level. You'll use that money to upgrade your bike parts or purchase clothing for your driver which doesn’t really add anything but style.

Urban Trial Freestyle is the definition of a short burst game. This is a game that you can pick up and bang out a couple of runs in just a few minutes. It’s very smartly designed to be a game that you can pick up and put down easily and quickly. There is also incentive to keep coming back. Each level gives you a rating from one to five stars depending on how you perform and getting all five stars isn’t always that easy so you can always keep trying for a higher score and the more stars you get, the more content you unlock. This game also has a lot of social hooks that it pulls in from” Near” or your friends list. The game will add a ghost rider of the track leader to show you how to beat their time and also has leader boards all over the place. If playing through the levels isn’t enough for you there are also challenges you can do such as getting the longest jump distance or other physics based challenges.

This game has some really creative environments and looks pretty good but can have a really dicey frame rate at times. Some of the levels will have explosions that will trigger or moving objects in the world that may reduce the frame rate pretty drastically sometimes which is something that can really get in the way of a game that requires precision bike placement. While that stuff can get in the way it doesn’t happen very often and watching yourself wreck is pretty fun at first with the ragdoll mechanics but the game gets pretty hard in the back end and I often found myself a little frustrated with some of the late level design. What is really good however is the sound design. The bike in this game sounds really cool and you do get the sense of driving a dirt bike while listening to it.

While this game doesn’t bring anything new to the table it accomplishes what it sets out to do with some minor speed bumps along the way. This game will definitely have its audience and even people looking for some pick up and play endurance action can find some enjoyment out of this game. This game is a good addition to a handheld library for people who like to have quick play sessions on the go. The physics are fun enough and there are enough social hooks that you can easily get wrapped up in this game and have you coming back for me. There’s nothing new here and the frame rate can get pretty touchy but the content that is here is entertaining enough.

Urban Trial Freestyle 2 Review

Urban Trial Freestyle 2's great mistake is putting the scoring system where the challenge is at its weakest. You can get through a gauntlet of obstacles unscathed, but you won't be rewarded at all. And while a track creation system does allow you to create amusing challenges for yourself, don't expect to find anyone else's. The effort put into the presentation is commendable, but Urban Trial Freestyle 2 is best described as fleeting, faltering fun.

Urban Trial Freestyle

I would have just liked to have seen more time spent on this game because while some people call Urban Trial Freestyle just a Trials HD rip off, it does bring it’s own flavor to the table and is a really fun game to play and great for mobile devices, but the 3DS version is one to skip.

Alien Breed

So the one thing about Alien Breed is that the game is kind of boring and if you aren’t a fan of the old game there really isn’t anything here to bring anyone new to the mix. Even going back to the game, it was hard to stay focused and want to keep playing. This package is a love letter to those who really enjoyed the original game and it doesn’t seem to be targeted towards anyone else really. Alien Breed is a decent package and great love letter to a classic arcade game but that’s all it manages to be. The inclusion of multiplayer goes a long way to make this package worth the price but if you are looking for something more in depth you may want to look elsewhere.

Urban Trial Freestyle

A good effort, an entertaining ride, a clone that's different, but in none of the ways that it needs to be different. As an option for a system that doesn't get the blissful torture of Trials HD or it's sequel, it's worth the money if you have that itch, but when put up against the best, it shows itself to be nothing more then a quality knock-off.